Flat knitting machine with auxiliary device



Nov. 24, 1931. o. ROTTLOFF FLAT KNITTING MACHINE WITH AUXILIARY DEVICEFiled April 29. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 24, 1931. o, ROTTLOFF1,833,536

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE WITH AUXILIARY DEVICE Filed April 29, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OSWINROTH-LOFT, OI AUERBACH, NEAR CHEMNITZ, GERMANY, ASSIGNOB TO FIB! A.ROBERT 'WIELAND, OF AUEBBACH, NEAR CHEMNITZ, GEREANY FLAT KNITTINGMACHINE WITH AUXILIARY DEVICE Application iiled April 29, 1929, SerialNo. 859,087, and in Germany May 3, 1928.

The invention relates to an auxiliary devise for flat knitting machinesby which both open work designs as well as tuck stitch designs or bothtogether may be obtained.

Devices for the production of open work designs are known, likewisemachinery with a device for tuck stitch designs, but both have beenhitherto very impractical and uneconomical, since only open work designscan be produced on machines with the open work device. If one desired touse both kinds of designs on one and the same machine, then two separatedevices are necessary, which however make the machine so complicated andexpensive that their use is prohibitive in practice. Moreover, thedouble arrangement also makes the working of such a machine veryunreliable and imperfect.

The novelty of the present invention consists in using one and the sameauxiliary device for the production of open work de signs as well astuck stitch designs. By this means an essentially simpler constructionof the machine is obtained on the one hand, and both kinds of designsmay be produced on the same machine without detriment to the reliabilityof working on the other hand.

Some constructional examples of the new device are showndiagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 showscertain principal operative parts of a flat knitting machine in sinkingposition;

Fig. 2 shows the parts in press position;

Fig. 3 shows the .pressing oil of the frame needles by means of thepresser element while in press position;

Fig. 4 shows the position of the parts immediately before the coverinprocess, i. e., the coming down of the trans er points;

Fig. 5 shows the action of the presser element on the transfer pointsfor the purpose of making open work designs;

Fig. 6 shows the arrangement of a presser element when .advanced intoworking position in relation to the frame needle;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section along the line VII-VII of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 shows a modified form of presser element;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section along the line IXIX of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section along the line XX of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 shows the pressing of the frame needle points by means of thepresser element for the purpose of forming tuck stitch designs; and

Fig. 12 shows the pressing oflf of the frame needle from the transferpoint by means of the presser element when producing open work designs.

Referring to Fig. 1, the various working parts of a fiat knittingmachine are shown herein in their normal positions. In the figure, 1 isthe frame needle, 2 the frame needle bar, 3 the sinker bar, 4 thesinker, 5' the knock-off plate, 6 the transfer point, 7 the fashioningrack, 8 the presser elements, 9 the bed for the presser elements inwhich they are arranged so as to be individually movable, and 10 is thepresser edge of sinker bar 3 against which, as is known, the hooks ofneedles 1 are pressed when the old row of stitches is to be removed overthe freshly run thread loops. Presser elements 8, as already mentioned,are fixed in bed 9 so as to be individually movable. In a known mannercertain presser elements 8 (corresponding to the design to be worked)are raised in the direction of the arrow and this enables these to actupon the remaining working parts, especially frame needles 1 or transferpoints 6.

Bed 9 is of course also arranged so as to be movable in the known mannerin the frame of the machine, so that presser elements 8 on being raisedmay follow exactly the movements of the other working parts during theformation of the design. U. S. Patent No. 939,328, to Salzer et al., maybe taken as illustrative of the mechanism used to give the movementreferred to.

In order to obtain a perfectly reliable cooperation of the presserelements with the frame needles or transfer points, presser elements 8are provided, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 on an enlarged scale, with aresting surface, for instance a groove a at their uper forwardly bentend, against which the rame needles or transfer points can rest, 2'. e.,

into which they can be inserted during. work- Without going beyond thescope of the invention, the presser elements 8' may be formed alsoaccording to Figs. 8 and 10. At the front bend there is again provided aresting surface, for instance a roove a for the frame needles. The upperackwardly bent end is however provided with a spoon-shaped cavity 6(Figs. 8 and 9) into which the transfer points can be inserted duringfashionlng.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the method will now be described ofoperating the new device when working with tuck stitch designs.

When a fresh row of stitches is run off, needle bar 2, as is known,moves downwards as shown in Fig. 2, to withdraw its frame needles, andat the same time abuts against the presser edge 10 of sinker bar 3 tothe extent that the hooks of the frame needles 1 are thereby pressed inand the old stitches on the frame needles slide over the hooks and arethrown off. At the same time the freshly run threads loops are drawnthrough the old stitches and thus converted into a complete row ofstitches.

As soon as the downward movement of the frame needles 1 begins, all thepresser elements 8 which happen to be opposite those frame needles onwhich the stitches for the design are to be formed, are raised into theposition shown in Fig. 3. The raised presser elements 8 now press withtheir upper ends on the frame needles 1 opposite to them and displacethe latter somewhat from their direction into the position in Fig. 3. Asthese cannot abut with their hooks against the presser edge 10 of sinkerbar 3, they cannot consequently throw off their old stitches over thehook owing to the stitches coming under the hooks. Consequently, theknown double stitches are formed on these frame needles.

Further, in the working of tuck stitch designs, as in Fig. 11, thearrangement may be such that the frame needle bar together with theframe needles does not go as far as the presser edge 10 of the sinkerbar 3 during pressing as in Fig. 2, but the hooks of the frame needles 1are pressed by presser elements 8. All presser elements 8 which belongto such frame needles, which form the design and therefore must notpress off, then remain in their normal position. All the remainingpresser elements are raised.

The procedure during fashioning, that is, in the production of open workdesigns, will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5.

The article hangs with its finally formed row of stitches on frameneedles 1, Fig. 4.

Before running off the next row of stitches, the known fashioningprocess is first introduced. The transfer points intended for theformation of the design are selected in a known manner. The presserelements 8 corresponding to the deslgn are again'raised in such a mannerthat the raised presser elements 8 are brought with their upper endswithin the field of the transfer points. By this 'means the transferpoints are pressed into the cavities or grooves of frame needles 1, Fig.5, and in the next following downward movement of the frame needles thetransfer points 6 as well as presser elements 8 accurately follow themovements of the frame needles 1 until the stitches have slid from theframe needles on to the transfer points. The presser elements 8thereupon return to their position of rest, whilst'during the furtherdescent of the frame needles 1 and transfer oints 6 the correspondingstitches are lifted rom their frame needles and suspended on other frameneedles in the known way by corresponding movements of the frame needlesand transfer points and by longitudinal displacement of the latter tothe left or right.

When using presser elements however the arrangement according to Figs.8, 9 and 10 may be adopted if desired, in such a way that by means ofthe raised presser elements the transfer points 6 are prevented frominserting into the cavities or grooves of machine needles 1 and fromlifting off the stitches from them. For this purpose the presserelements must be provided at their front bend with a resting surface,for instance a groove a against which when working with tuck stitchdesigns the hooks of the frame needles, or the frame needles themselvesmay rest, or into which they may enter.

It is also possible however, when fashioning, not to allow the presserelements 8 to act on the transfer points 6', as previously described andshown for example in Fig. 5, but to cause the presser elements to act onthe frame needles as shown in Fig. 12. The movement of the fashioningmachine must then be maintained in such a way that all transfer points6, the frame needles 1 of which are not pushed back, lift off thestitches from their frame needles, but the stitches of the frame needleswhich are pushed back cannot be engaged by the transfer points.

Thus it can be seen that the new idea of the invention, of allowing oneand the same auxiliary device to act both on the frame needles 1 andalso on the transfer points 6 in the formation of designs, enables themost varied desi ns to be obtained, while the said idea is capa le ofalmost illimitable development. At the same time this inventive ideagreatly facilitates the decreasing or the increasing for the purpose ofalterlng the form of the article as may be desired, and also thetemporary putting out of action of certain groups of needles.

The possibilities described and illustrated in the figures can,therefore, only be regarded as examples of carrying out the inventionsince more detailed construction of the auxiliary device together withits elements, as well as the movemerts thereof when co-operating withthe remaining working parts, will entirely conform to the remainder ofthe construction and to the method of working of the machine. Thesubstance of the invention remains always the use of only a singleauxiliary device in the working of open work and tuck stitch designs ona single machine. But the possibility is also therewith obtained ofcombinin both kinds of designs with one another an thus of attaining themost varied and new results.

What I claim is 1. In a flat knitting machine of the characterdescribed, frame needles, transfer points and presser elements, saidelements being separately movable and operable to act either upon theframe needles or upon the transfer points for producing tuck stltch Workor open work interchangeably in the same machine. 2. In a flat knittingmachine of the character described, frame needles, transfer points andpresser elements, said elements eing bent backwardly at their upperends, provided with a cavity adapted to receive the tips of the transferpoints, and provided with a contact surface shaped to engage the frameneedles.

3. In a flat knitting machine of the character described, frame needles,transfer oints and presser elements, said elements ing individuallyoperable to press selected frame needles away from their correspondingtransfer points, to such an extent that the stitches on the selectedframe needles cannot be engaged by the transfer points, whereby plainwork is produced at said selected needles while open work is produced atthe other needles not thus pressed away.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signedmy name this 16th day of A ril, 1929.

' SWIN ROTTLOFF.

